As LA's season slips away, something to look forward to in the coming weeks may be the recall of Jonny Brodzinski.
The 23-year-old paces the Ontario Reign with 25 goals and is tied for the team lead in points. His 3.07 shots per game is tops too.
League-wide, the right winger is tied for third in the AHL in goals and is 10th in total shots (172).
Indeed, Brodzinski's accurate right-handed shot is certainly his "bread-and-butter" skill. But what might be surprising is his array of dangerous shots.
There's the wrist shot:
Brodzinski, off the post and in, ties it late! @ontarioreign 2 @CheckersHockey pic.twitter.com/oquPsr5Z37
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 19, 2017
Sutter steals, Brodzinski scores! Brodzinski has now taken team-lead in points too w/ 45, 3 point night @ontarioreign 4 @RoadrunnersAHL 0 pic.twitter.com/HVLFvcVE6m
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 12, 2017
The snapper:
Brodzinski can't stop, won't stop! @ontarioreign 2 @sarampage 2 pic.twitter.com/gK6NmQ53bc
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 28, 2017
Sutter does the work, Brodzinski cashes the check! @ontarioreign 6 @sjbarracuda 2 pic.twitter.com/pjek8QOxQW
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 22, 2017
He even has a powerful slapshot in his arsenal:
Brodzinski decapitates the puck! @ontarioreign 1 @RoadrunnersAHL 0 pic.twitter.com/s3YAKJyEyG
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 17, 2017
Bomb by Brodzinski! @ontarioreign 1 @SDGullsAHL 1 pic.twitter.com/fZflJqPt3R
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 28, 2016
In tight, he likes the backhand:
Brodzinski with a whopper of a goal! @ontarioreign 3 @RoadrunnersAHL 1 pic.twitter.com/ZWCJ6956Bw
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 18, 2017
We all knew Brodzinski could shoot, but I didn't know he could do that! @ontarioreign 3 @Condors 0 pic.twitter.com/oBgDf8F52k
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2016
Brodzinski steals it & finishes the breakaway! @ontarioreign 2 @CheckersHockey 0 pic.twitter.com/849WpyYbH2
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 4, 2016
You also have to look out for for him at the high slot, as his excellent hand-eye offers a quick tip:
Brodzinski with his 6th goal in six games! @ontarioreign 1 @sarampage 1 pic.twitter.com/gmeC5Oev6D
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 28, 2017
Brodzinski gets the tip off Purcell bomb! @AHLHeat 4 @ontarioreign 3 pic.twitter.com/2UPtaqXKof
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 1, 2017
On the power play, Ontario sets his shot up around the dots or finds him for the high-slot tip. Not surprisingly, he leads the team with nine man advantage markers.
Beyond his shot, the 2013 5th round draft pick's speed has progressed from "average to good at the college level" to I believe above-average for the NHL. This, coupled with his lower center of gravity -- he's 6'1" and about 215 -- should make him solid on his feet.
Speaking of, Brodzinski has shown off some impressive footwork -- kicking the puck up to his stick at top speed looks routine for him:
Brodzinski shows off some fancy footwork once again. Errant pass, he kicks it up into his wheelhouse pic.twitter.com/4suwTI63RK
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 13, 2017
Couple plays I liked: Once again, Brodzinski kicks puck up to stick w/ his skate. Also, Leslie does nice job directing traffic on SJ rush pic.twitter.com/CBgA37gtao
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 22, 2017
Brodzinski w/ back-to-back impressive plays, especially kicking puck up to stick for in-tight chance pic.twitter.com/l2xgUdnRes
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 17, 2017
An outstanding shot and improved skating is complemented by a real nose for the net + the ability to find soft spots in the coverage.
Offensively, the St. Cloud State product appears to just need some NHL seasoning.
On the other side of the puck, Brodzinski is a conscientious backchecker. While it's not necessarily his forte, he gives an honest effort defending, so much so that he's usually paired with Sean Backman as the Reign's third-choice penalty killers. Of course, he broke his thumb blocking a shot in last year's playoffs.
Though not the most physical of players, Brodzinski hasn't shied away from battles anywhere on the ice. It's fair to question how the winger's battle skills will translate -- dominating the AHL certainly doesn't mean even a regular job in the NHL -- but his decent size, strength, and smarts make him a good bet to gain fluency with one-on-one battles.
There's space for Brodzinski to increase speed and strength, but his rapid development over the last couple years has him on the cusp of NHL-ready.
For a Kings organization desperately seeking finishers, he provides legitimate hope. Ultimately, I see his ceiling as a second-line scorer.
Brodzinski has an excellent chance to become LA's best draft pick from 2013, better than more celebrated prospects like Valentin Zykov and Hudson Fasching. Not bad for a fifth-rounder!
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